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S.O.D. was a side project
of Anthrax's Charlie Benante and
Scott Ian, along with Nuclear
Assault's Danny Lilker (who also played with Anthrax for a spell)
plus Billy Milano on vocals.
S.O.D. - Speak English or Die-Platinum Edition (Megaforce) 1985/1999
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"March of the S.O.D." (1:27) |
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YUP! S.O.D.'s "Speak English or Die" was an important record in the fusion of hardcore, punk, thrash and speed metal, a style which dominated the 90's. Ironically, the record that inspired an entire scene was recorded as a joke and the themes of the songs themselves are intentionally goofy, funny and/or sexist. Even the cover of St. D was a joke/rip-off of Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie. The record has sold over a million copies without the help of radioplay which makes the album even more ironic. In 2000 a platinum edition of the disc was released.
Speak English
or Die-Platinum Edition
Well, now I have two versions of this cd. Found the 'Platinum Edition' used
for $5, so I snagged it for the bonus tracks. The liner notes are better than
the original, plus there is a new collage of photos, although I could have lived
without seeing Billy Milano's naked butt. The Platinum Edition was released
to commemorate the fact that the album has sold more than one million copies.
Pretty funny considering this album was recorded as a bit of a joke, or a side
project of the Anthrax dudes. Anyhow,
the bonus tracks included two new excllent studio tracks and a bunch of live
material from Tokyo. Well worth the $5 I paid. I would have paid that much if
the two studio tracks and the live material was released on it's own as a EP.
S.O.D. - Live At Budokon (SPV) 1992
1. "Intro" (:37)
2. "March of the SOD" (2:02
3. "Sargent D and the SOD" (2:47)
4. "Kill Yourself" (:55)
5. "Momo" (:43)
6. "Pi Alpha Nu" (2:5)
7. "Milano Mosh" (1:42)
8. "Speak English or Die" (3:37)
9. "Chromatic Death" (1:04)
10. "Fist Banging Mania" (2:32)
11. "The Camel boy" (:23)
12. "No Turning Bac" (:51)
13. "Milk" (2:07)
14. "Vatality" (1:23)
15. "F**k the Middle Eastv:54)
16. "Douche Crew" (2:04)
17. "Get a Real Job" (2:44)
18. "The Ballad of Jimi Hendrix" (:34)
19. "Livin in the City" (2:08)
20. "Pussy Whipped" (3:29)
21. "Stigmata" (2:53)
22. "Thieves" (1:45)
23. "Freddy Krueger" (3:04)
24. "Territorial Pissings" (2:46)
25. "United Forces" (3:20)
"Live at Budokon" captured what was suppose to be a one time reunion show at The Ritz in NYC. The title is intentionally misleading and only adds to the humor that S.O.D. are known for. While the band sounds good, or at least as good as they can for this type of harcore/thrash crossover slop, but what is truly amusing about this CD is the crowd. The crowd just seems to be losing their minds and while the band is trying to tell them to 'be cool' between songs, it was pretty obvious they were feeding off the mayhem. At one point, some people in the audience were apparently getting so crazy that someone got hurt. Following a violent fight in the audience, S.O.D. tears into an agressive version of "Milano Mosh" and then mix "Speak English Or Die" with bits of Slayer. Of course this just whips the crowd further into frenzy. Sounds like a typical thrash/hardcore show at the L'Amour to me. I had seen Anthrax there in 1985 and it was pretty much the same scenerio. As for the music here, well, Milano is typical Milano. He sounds like he is drunk or just really confused. The band, as well, makes mistakes Milano even points out at one point. In other words, it doesn't sound like there are any overdubs on this CD making this CD is more of a high quality bootleg. What more would you expect from S.O.D.? It's what they are all about. There are a few covers here, including a cover of Milano's own M.O.D. song "Get A Real Job", as well as 2 covers of Ministy. I guess the band was really into them at this time. Likewise, "Territorial Pissings" is a Nirvana song done in typical S.O.D. hardcore style. There are also a few "new songs" that consist of one chord/one syllable each. While some may sneer at all this, these people need to remember that S.O.D. were a parody band from the very beginning. They were basically a joke, albeit a joke that became very influencial. This CD captures well that joke in action. If you don't get it, you probably won't enjoy this CD.
S.O.D. - Bigger than the Devil (Nuclear Blast) 1999
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"Bigger Than the Devil" (2:29) 2. "The Crackhead Song" (1:46) 3. "Kill the Assholes" (2:51) 4. "Monkey's Rule" (1:46) 5. "Skool Bus" (:36) 6. "King at the King/Evil Is In" (2:20) 7. "Black War" (2:25) 8. "Celtic Frosted Flakes" (1:15) 9. "Charlie Don't Cheat" (:24) 10. "The Song That Don't Go Fast" (1:52) 11. "Shenanigans" (2:17) 12. "Dog on the Tracks" (:04) 13. "Xerox" (:54) 14. "Make Room, Make Room" (3:31) 15. "Free Dirty Needles" (2:36) 16. "Fugu" (:06) 17. "Noise, That's What" (1:10) 18. "We All Bleed Red" (2:33) 19. "Frankenstein and His Horse" (:21) 20. "Every Tiny Molecule" (1:03) 21. "Aren't You Hungry" (3:18) 22. "L.A.T.K.C.H." (:27) 23. 'Ballad of Michael H." (:12) 24. "Ballad of Phil H." (:08) 25. "Moment of Truth" (3:03) |
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As if fourteen years hadn't passed since they released their groundbreaking "Speak English or Die" album, S.O.D. returns with the pummeling follow-up "Bigger than the Devil." Although there are now tons of band's fusing hardcore and thrash metal together, S.O.D. still do it better than most. Their mosh, speed-metal ethic is absolutely infectious. Hopefully Scott Ian and Charlie Benante will take some of this thrash ethic back to Anthrax with them in 2002. Musically the band is still one of the fastest, with some of the best chops. The band makes it clear in "Charlie Don't Cheat" that Benante is one of the best speed metal drummers around and was one of the originators of the style. "It's time to hear what's really fast, to hear the first to do the blast, so many try but cant keep up, they're just to slow to make the cut...in death or grind or speed or thrash, you certainly will come in last." Certainly Charlie hasn't sounded this aggressive in years. Billy Milano also sounds great. Actually he hasn't sounded this good since those early M.O.D. cds. Once again, the cover art features 'ol Sergeant D, only this time mimicking Eddie from Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast" cover. Of course Sgt. D was an Eddie spawn to begin with. As with "Speak English" the Stormtroopers mix up some humorous themes with some political commentaries on pop-culture, popular figures, political correctness, prejudice, and Celtic Frost. However, S.O.D. are anything but politically correct or unoffensive. No, many songs are written for the very reason of offending people. "Shennanigans" takes pot shots at "Born Again Yuppie Young Republicans." That being said, they also have some valid complaints and points against modern religion and politics, who unfortunately make taking pot shots rather easy.
1. "Seasoning of the Obese" |
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A split, yellow vinyl single featuring one S.O.D. song on one side and two tracks from Japanese, all-female punk band Yellow Machinegun on the other. Hilarious mockery of Slayer's "Season's in the Abyss" CD. If you look real close you can see Ronald McDonald in the lower left hand corner just above the word "Seasoning." Not really an essential item, but a nice collector's item nonetheless.
Related Collections:
| M.O.D. | Nuclear Assault